People often ask me for recommendations on which cybersecurity certification they should get. If they don’t have any certifications, I typically recommend they get the CompTIA Security+ certification. I recommend Security+ because it is a foundational level cybersecurity certification. It’s not easy to get through, as it assumes you have basic IT and networking background. The Security+ is actually the 4th certification in the CompTIA progression:

1. IT Fundamentals+
2. A+
3. Network+
4. Security+

The Security+ is the 4th certification in CompTIA’s progression

Common Questions People Ask Me about Security+

• Are there any prerequisites for the Security+? No. You should understand the material in the A+ and Network+ though. It’s kind of hard to understand cybersecurity without first understanding computers and operating systems (A+) and networking (Network+).

• Will the Security+ make you an expert in cybersecurity? Absolutely Not

• Is the Security+ Exam difficult? Yes. The 501 exam is more difficult than previous versions because of the addition of performance-based questions. The performance-based questions are supposed to weed out the paper tigers that just study brain dumps and try to memorize answers.

• Will you learn some of the cybersecurity fundamentals? Yes

• Will you be able to get a job with it? Maybe

Security+ Jobs

To find out how many job openings there are for Security+ certified people, you can visit Cyber Seek. As of today, 13 Feb 20, there are 45,601 Security+ job openings, according to Cyber Seek.

According to indeed.com, as of today, 13 Feb 20, there are 5563 Security+ jobs.